ABOUT MUTUAL AID

Mutual Aid is a term for community members coming together to take care of each other in times of need, when government and corporations fail to provide systems that allow people to meet their basic needs. This is often during times of chronic crisis and "business as usual" when people in our community have unmet needs that are addressed by programs such as Hearts to End Hunger, The Brick or Gwayakobimaadiziwin (Bad River's Needle Exchange Program.)

Mutual Aid has a long lineage going back to the Underground Railroad, the Black Panther Party's Survival Programs (such as community clinics and free breakfast for children), American Indian Movement's Survival Schools, Hurricane Katrina (New Orleans, 2005), Superstorm Sandy (Northeast 2012), and Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rice, 2017/18). Now, as we face the global spread of COVID-19, Mutual Aid has risen to the forefront of public discourse as a solution to the problems facing communities around the world when governmental and corporate institutions have not adequately addressed them. In times of acute crises, such as the 2016 flood and the COVID-19 pandemic, the needs of communities grow and so to do our efforts to take care of each other.

We formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the work of mutual aid will be ongoing. This care network is a way to connect volunteers and organizations with people in need throughout Ashland, Washburn, Bayfield, Bad River Marengo, Mellen, Red Cliff, Herbster, Cornucopia, and Port Wing. We are working in tandem with CORE Community Resources in Bayfield to coordinate volunteers and support requests.

To learn more about Mutual Aid, check out this wonderful collection of resources put together by Mutual Aid Disaster Relief.

For more resources, and for direct links to Mutual Aid groups across the country, check out this article by Kitty Stryker.